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ACCOUNTING
- Squire, offering tax management and accounting services from offices in Salt Lake City and Orem, has promoted Dave Archibald to office managing partner in the Orem office and Danny Barlow to a similar role in the Salt Lake City office. Barlow succeeds Shane Edwards, who had served in the position since 2018. Archibald has been with Squire since 2005. In 2009, he assumed a partner role within the firm and has called information systems and integration between systems his primary areas of focus during his career. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management and a master’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University. Barlow has specialized in auditing throughout his career but will see an expanded scope in his new position. He joined Squire after working as a partner with Pinnock, Robbins, Posey and Richins PC and coming into the fold after the two firms merged in 2018. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in professional accountancy from Weber State University.
COMMUNICATIONS
- Power & Tel, a distributor in the telecommunications industry, has announced an expansion to include a new warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company said the addition will make its distribution system more accessible, efficient and cost-effective for customers throughout the Western states. Based in Tennessee and founded in 1963, the company has 14 more branches across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
CONSTRUCTION
- Big-D Construction, based in Salt Lake City, has appointed Teri Klug to director of national business development. Klug will be responsible for driving the company’s growth strategy, fostering new business relationships, and expanding market presence. She has experience in both the private and government sectors, including in economic development, site selection and real estate. Prior to joining Big-D, Klug served as vice president of strategic alliances at CatoDigital. Klug earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Artificial intelligence will lead to a growth of 10,175 “mompreneurs” in Utah by 2028, according to a study by Bright Valley Marketing. In Utah, 35 percent of businesses are women-owned, equating to 101,750 companies. A 10 percent increase of women-owned businesses is expected within the next five years, with the number reaching 111,925 by 2028.
- Utah pet owners are prepared to pay a $4,078 premium to rent homes with their pets, according to a study by AgentAdvice.com. Eighty-two percent of pet owners would be willing to pay an additional fee to keep them. A study indicated that 10 percent of pet-owning renters admit to not disclosing pets to their landlords, equating to 28,670 illegal pets. Details are at https://www.agentadvice.com/blog/paws-and-property/.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 20 and West Valley City is No. 185 on a list of “Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities,” compiled by LawnStarter. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on 20 indicators of an ideal LGBTQ city, such as anti-discrimination policies, the share of same-sex households and LGBTQ support resources. It also factored in affordability, LGBTQ-friendly healthcare access, and pride-readiness. On a breakout list, West Valley City is tied with several other cities for fewest LGBTQ social groups per 100,000 residents. The top-ranked city is San Francisco. The No. 200 city is Hialeah, Florida. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/most-lgbtq-friendly-cities/#rankings.
- Salt Lake City is No. 9 and West Valley City is No. 192 on a list of “Best States for Running,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on seven categories, including access to high-quality trails, pedestrian fatality rates and climate, among 28 total metrics. On a breakout list, Salt Lake City was No. 5 for most running trails. The top-ranked city overall is San Francisco. The No. 200 city is Macon, Georgia. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-for-runners/#rankings.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 126 and West Valley City is No. 156 on a list of “Best Cities for Birdwatching,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on four categories, including access and bird variety, bird species, checklists indicating birding popularity and Audubon chapters, among 14 total metrics. The top-ranked city is New York City. The No. 200 city is Kansas City, Kansas. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-birdwatching/#rankings.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
- Western Governors University, a private, nonprofit university, and Latinos in Action have announced a new partnershipto increase access to affordable, competency-based, online educational opportunities for Latino youth and their families in Utah and across the nation. The agreement establishes a pathway for LIA associates, including LIA graduates, employees and their parents, to career-ready bachelor’s and master’s degrees, certificates, and credentials. LIA associates are also eligible to apply for the WGU Community Outreach Partnership scholarship, valued up to $5,000 per recipient ($1,250 per term for up to four academic terms). Latinos In Action’s program operates as a year-long elective course at the middle school, junior high and high school level.
- Dixie Technical College has partnered with Findlay Subaru to incorporate Subaru-specific training into its curriculum through a program called “Subaru-U.” The partnership is designed to give students the ability to finish the training required of any Subaru technician before they enter the workforce. The training will roll out in stages. Currently, students who choose to work towards Subaru certification do so through web-based training. Over time the instructors will start incorporating the Subaru-U training into the curriculum so each student will have the opportunity to receive their certifications from hands-on experience in the classroom.
GOVERNMENT
- Gov. Spencer Cox recently announced a statewide initiative to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program, designed to help eligible households pay for high-speed Internet. The ACP is a $14.2 billion federal broadband benefit funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and administered by the Federal Communications Commission, that provides eligible households with a monthly discount of up to $30 per month (up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands) and a one-time $100 discount toward a laptop, desktop computer or tablet. Over348,596 Utah households are eligible for the ACP, while only 16 percent of those eligible have enrolled. The “ACP Act Now: Utah” initiative unites a coalitionof 53 partner cities, community-based organizations and institutions, in partnership with EducationSuperHighway, the national nonprofit with a mission to close the broadband affordability gap. Six local organizations/entities have been awarded grant funds to conduct ACP outreach. Catholic Community Services of Utah has been awarded $135,140 through the National Competitive Outreach program. Salt Lake County has been awarded $169,716 through the ACP Navigator Pilot program. Santaquin City Library has been awarded $26,760 through the NCO program. Utah Community Action Partnership Association has been awarded $400,000 through the NCO program. Utah State University has been awarded $400,000 through the NCO program and $66,689 through the Tribal Competitive Outreach program. Utah Paiute Tribal Housing Authority has been awarded $50,000 through the ACP “Your Home, Your Internet” pilot program. EducationSuperHighway will support statewide awareness by training community leaders and partner organizations and providing outreach materials and tools to help households enroll. It also recently launched GetACP.org/Utah that simplifies ACP enrollment.
GRANTS
- Applications are being accepted until 5 p.m. July 13 for the $10 million Utah Manufacturing Modernization grant program. The application portal opens at 9 a.m. June 30 and will remain open until July 13 or until applications exceed anticipated funding levels by an amount set by the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah). The grant program incentivizes Utah businesses to modernize, establish, relocate, retain or develop manufacturing in the state. Funding limits are anticipated to be set to $750,000. Final award amounts are made at the discretion of Go Utah. Details are at https://business.utah.gov/manufacturing-modernization-grant/.
HEALTHCARE
- St. George Surgical Center recently hosted a public open house marking the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art surgical facility at 585 E. Riverside Drive, St. George. The 13,000-square-foot St. George Surgical Riverfront campus will feature four modern operating rooms. St. George Surgical Center offers transparent pricing for over 420 procedures on its website. Pricing includes a surgeon fee, facility fee, anesthesia fee, implants, and overnight stay, if necessary. The center is physician-owned and operated and offers options for over 450 surgical procedures in 16 surgical specialties.
MANUFACTURING
- Merit Medical Systems Inc., a South Jordan-based manufacturer and marketer of healthcare technology, has entered into a new, five-year senior secured credit agreement. The agreement includes a revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $700 million and a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $150 million. Wells Fargo Bank NA is acting as administrative agent for a group of financial institutions providing the new credit facilities. Merit said it has borrowed approximately $242 million under the new credit facilities and intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and the repayment of outstanding borrowings on its previous senior secured term loan and revolving credit facility. As a result, Merit’s total indebtedness remains substantially unchanged following the execution of the new credit agreement.
NONPROFITS
- Bicycle Collective, a nonprofit organization in Salt Lake City’s Granary District, has secured funding from the federal New Markets Tax Credit Program to build a $6 million headquarters geared to helping people overcome transportation barriers through cycling. Since 2002, Bicycle Collective has accepted donated bicycles in any condition and repaired, refurbished or recycled them. It then put refurbished bikes in the hands of the people who need them the most, for free. Bikes it gives away go to children, newly resettled refugees and immigrants, individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, people recovering from substance abuse and low-income family members. Last year, the organization gave away 1,522 bicycles to 944 children and 578 adults, and kept more than 77 tons of steel, aluminum and rubber out of the landfill. It expects to double the number of bikes it gives away in the next three years. Bicycle Collective also has a entire suite of services to benefit community members throughout Utah and collaborates with 60 community partners from its hub in Salt Lake City and three shops in Ogden, Provo and St. George. Its current 3,000-square-foot leased facility has become woefully inadequate, it said. The new facility will be two stories and 16,090 square feet. Funding for the new Bicycle Collective headquarters was made possible through investments from Bicycle Collective, the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City and U.S. Bank, as well as New Markets Tax Credits from the community development lender MoFi. The project is MoFi’s first NMTC project in Utah. Fundraising for the headquarters project continues. Construction of the new hub is underway and expected to be complete in October.
- Utah Food Bank’s Summer Food Service Program has begun and the nonprofit has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially declared sponsorship of the program. The program will extend Utah Food Bank’s “Kids Café” program by providing free meals to children 18 years of age and under in both “Open Sites” and “Enrolled Programs.” Approximately 146,000 meals will be served at 58 sites through the program. Other service providers are offering additional program sites across the state, for a total of more than 300 sites statewide. Utah Food Bank’s Summer Business Food & Fund Drive lasts until the end of August. Details are at www.UtahFoodBank.org/summer.
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury has certified Suazo Business Center as a Community Development Financial Institution. The center is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization devoted to business and economic development for the region’s Hispanic, Latino and other minority communities. Being a CDFI is an honor held by less than 1,500 financial institutions and community organizations nationwide. Suazo Business Center joins only five other organizations in Utah that are CDFI-certified. CDFI certification is a designation given by the Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund to organizations that provide financial services in low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing. Suazo Business Center is the only organization specializing in loans to Utah’s minority-owned business community. The center said J.P. Morgan Chase, a longtime supporter of the center, provided a donation to aid in developing Suazo’s bid to become a CDFI-certified lending organization. In the coming months, the Suazo Business Center will launch its CDFI loan program to expand borrowing capacity to Utah’s minority business enterprises.
PARTNERSHIPS
- Scorpion, a Salt Lake City-based provider of digital marketing technology, has announced a partnership and integration with Thumbtack, a home management platform. With this partnership, Thumbtack pros can now integrate their accounts with Scorpion’s Advertising & Communication technology for faster lead response times, which will help home services professionals streamline their business operations, Scorpion said.
- DigiCert, a Lehi-based provider of digital trust software, has announced a partnership with ReversingLabs, focused on software supply chain security, to enhance software security by combining advanced binary analysis and threat detection from ReversingLabs with DigiCert’s enterprise-grade secure code signing solution. DigiCert said its customers will benefit from improved software integrity through deep analysis that shows their software is free from known threats like malware, software implants, software tampering and exposed secrets before they securely sign it.
PHILANTHROPY
- American United Federal Credit Union, in partnership with Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, has announced that NeighborWorks Salt Lake will receive an $18,000 grant from the FHLB Des Moines Member Impact Fund. This matching grant program, which was introduced in 2023, provides up to $15 million to eligible organizations in order to strengthen communities in targeted areas of the FHLB Des Moines district. The fund matching program is available to organizations located in Hawaii, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Member institutions in those locations submitted applications in March and April; funds were distributed directly to the member institution, which then provide the funding alongside a matching grant from FHLB Des Moines for the partner/recipient organization. NeighborWorks Salt Lake aims to build stronger neighborhoods, providing access to affordable housing, offering financial education, and promoting community engagement. The $18,000 contribution will enable NeighborWorks Salt Lake to expand its programs to reach more individuals and families in need.
REAL ESTATE
- Park Station, a 96-unit apartment property in Midvale, has been sold by Benedict Canyon Equities to Peak Capital Partners. Terms were not disclosed. The sale was announced by Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap. Brock Zylstra, IPA senior vice president investments, and Danny Shin, IPA senior managing director, represented Benedict and Peak. Park Station was built in 1974.
RECOGNITIONS
- The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah have announced that Utah has been recognized with a Silver Shovel Award from Area Development. The annual Shovel Awards recognize state economic development agencies that drive significant job creation through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, and processes that attract new employers and investments in new and expanded facilities. Each states was invited to submit information about its top job creation and investment projects in 2022. Utah qualified for a Silver Shovel award in the population category of 2 million to 4 million. Utah has been recognized by Area Development 13 out of the past 16 years.
- Salt Lake County has been awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year that Dec. 31, 2021, by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. It earned the award for demonstrating a “spirit of full disclosure” and clear communication. The certificate is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting. This is the 35th consecutive year that Salt Lake County has received the award.
- The Utah Valley Home Builders Association’s annual “Parade of Homes” has been recognized with an Award of Excellence from the Executive Officers Council of the National Association of Home Builders, which named it the best parade of homes in the nation. This is the second time the Utah Valley Parade of Homes has received the national award, having also won in 2018. The event has taken place for 48 years. Last year, more than 35,000 people attended the annual scattered-site event. This year, 31 homes will be featured during the event, which continues until June 24. Proceeds go back into the community in scholarships and donations.
- MVE+Partners, a California-based architecture, design and planning firm, recently was recognized for two of its projects, including Post District Residences in Salt Lake City, at the Pacific Coast Builders’ Conference Gold Nugget Awards event. The Gold Nugget awards are the nation’s oldest design award for innovative architecture, planning and construction. The two awards are top honors judged by a panel of industry experts who reviewed nearly 650 entries. The Grand Award winners showcase the most exciting trends in design, planning and building across over 50 categories, including multifamily, affordable, mixed-use and recreational facilities. Post District Residences was designed by MVE+Partners for developers Lowe Property Group, BCG Holdings, Q Factor and Bridge Housing, with general contracting by Big-D Construction, It was named Grand Award winner in the category of Best On-the-Boards Multi-Family Community. The new mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development in Salt Lake City’s downtown Post District consists of five buildings with 580 residential units, 22,405 square feet of retail and 86,000 square feet of private and public outdoor space. The project will have restaurants, cafes, shops, open green space and plazas within walking distance. This year’s Gold Nugget Grand Awards mark MVE+Partners’ 85th Grand Awards over the past 47 years.
- The Young Living Lavender Farm and Distillery in Mona has received a “Monarch Farm USA” designation from Monarch City USA for its longstanding dedication to monarch butterfly conservation and research and an effort on its farms to help recover the monarch butterfly population. Young Living Essential Oils is a Lehi-based provider of essential oils and oil-infused products. Monarch City USA is a nonprofit corporation that encourages American municipalities to plant milkweed and nectar plants to help the at-risk monarch butterfly population.
TECHNOLOGY
- Quotient Technologies Inc., a Salt Lake City-based digital promotions and media technology company, has announced changes to its board of directors in connection with a cooperation agreement with Engaged Capital LLC. The company will nominate Kate W. Vanek and Tracey Figurelli to stand for election to the board at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, scheduled for Aug. 3. David Oppenheimer, Jody Gessow and Lorraine Hariton will not stand for re-election, and Alison Hawkins and Eric Higgs will resign effective as of the meeting. With the changes, the board will be reduced to seven directors, six of whom will be independent, following the meeting. Vanek is global chief operating and financial officer for True Talent Advisory. She previously served as chief operating officer of the global finance organization, chief financial officer of the EMEA division of Blackrock Inc., senior vice president and CFO over the global media business of Nielsen, Nielsen’s senior vice president of investor relations, in various investor relations and government relations-related roles within Stanley Black and Decker, vice president of credit derivative sales for Bear Stearns & Co., and as a manager at Thompson Financial. Figurelli is director of Andra Partners. She has over 25 years of professional services experience, building teams, acquiring clients, developing service and product offerings and growing businesses. She previously held various director roles at RGP Consulting; served as director, corporate financial operations and systems at Prudential Financial; and serves as a director or advisor to several private technology companies, including Analytic Edge, EvoluteIQ and Networked.
- Pluralsight, a Draper-based technology workforce development company, has appointed Matthew Collieras chief customer officer. Collier has customer success experience, having served in leadership roles at software companies. Collier was most recently senior vice president of customer success for Signifyd. He also served as the senior director of customer success at Adobe, overseeing their commercial market segment, and was vice president of customer success at Marketo.